Boerne Champion’s Anastacia Gonzales’ promising...

1of4Boerne Champion sophomore Anastacia Gonzales owns the nation’s top high school time — 2 minutes, 10.04 seconds — in the 800-meter run. Gonazles recorded it the second Boerne ISD Relays meet on Feb. 27, not long before the UIL suspended the track season March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic.Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer /Staff photographer

2of4Anastacia Gonzales base been excelling in most all of the distance-running events, including often handling the second leg for Boerne Champion in the 1,600-meter relay.Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer /Staff photographer

3of4Boerne Champion’s Anastacia Gonzales approaches the finish line for the girls Class 5A 5K run at the UIL State Cross Country meet on Nov. 9, 2019, at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.Photo: John Gutierrez /John Gutierrez

Boerne Champion sophomore Anastacia Gonzales’ rise as one of the state’s best runners had a good start.

Chargers distance-running coach Jennifer Breuer said Gonzales stood out as a seventh grader as she witnessed a young runner with a smooth stride — her arms tight and body in control.

“When I first watched her run, immediately I saw a beautiful, strong, efficient runner,” Breuer said. “I knew she would be something special once she figured out that second lap.”

That second lap is the final 400 meters of the two-lap 800-meter run — Gonzales’ specialty. It’s an event in which she has the nation’s top time (2 minutes, 10.04 seconds). Gonzales clocked it the second Boerne ISD Relays meet Feb. 27.

That performance not only put her on top of the nation’s rankings, but it eclipsed the San Antonio area’s record (2:10.20 in 2015) previously held by Smithson Valley’s Devin Clark, who was part of Arkansas’ national champion cross country team last fall.

A week later, she turned in a time of 4:56.72 in the 1,600 run at the New Braunfels Unicorn Relays. It was the nation’s seventh-fastest time this season and fourth best in Texas.

More Information

Editor’s Note: This is the third story in a series chronicling what could be lost seasons for many high school athletes who were chasing state championships.

Coming Saturday: A year ago this weekend, LEE lost a heartbreaker against Flower Mound for the Class 6A state soccer championship. As the nation’s second-ranked team, the Volunteers hoped for redemption this season.

Read More

Given the current high school sports climate in Texas, where seasons are on hold as the state battles the coronavirus pandemic, Gonzales owns one of the more intriguing “what-could-be” stories.

“At first, I was really sad because I had been looking forward to a lot of the meets that were canceled and I had been training so hard,” said Gonzales, who turns 16 in May. “But then, I realized that everything happens for a reason. I’m using this time as an opportunity to keep training and getting stronger, hoping it will get back on or (if) I’m just going to be preparing to get into cross country.”

The UIL suspended play indefinitely March 13. Among the canceled events was the Texas Relays, scheduled for the final weekend in March. It would have been an ideal time for Gonzales to test herself against the state’s top runners.

“She never got a chance to run against some of the leaders at the Texas Relays and people who would have really pushed her,” Breuer said. “That’s the only thing that’s been missing, the ability to have someone else really push her in a situation where she’s healthy and ready to go.”

Gonzales hasn’t enjoyed a competitive peer in track this season. When Gonzales ran the 2:10.04, she won by 11 seconds, a staggering cushion in a two-lap race.

Her 4:56.72 at the Unicorn Relays on March 5 was 10.5 seconds faster than teammate Kelsie Vicknair, the 2019 Express-News Runner of the Year in cross country.

Gonzales has become a refined runner in the 800 because of pacing. Breuer said her splits have evened out. A year ago, Gonzales basically went out fast, built a big lead and held on to the end. She was running about four seconds faster on the first lap.

“I love that race, but it’s so hard to pace your times because you are basically trying to sprint the entire time but also trying to keep that pace,” Gonzales said. “I was running 2:13, 2:14 and stayed there. I was scared that I wasn’t going to get any better.”

A year ago, Gonzales finished fourth at the UIL state championships in the 800 with a time of 2:16.18. She was edged by a half-second for the bronze by Frisco Liberty’s Nissi Kabongo. Gonzales won the Region IV-5A title with a time of 2:15.42.

Breuer said Gonzales’ renewed approach to cross country last fall has helped in the 800.

“She’s always shied away from the longer distance stuff and this year we saw her really embrace that and push herself and it paid off,” Breuer said. “Her aerobic base was so strong. The more base you have, the stronger athlete you become. That was her only weakness in terms of building that talent. It was just a matter of getting good mileage in and she was able to do that in cross country.”

Because Gonzales wasn’t the Chargers’ top cross country runner, she learned to follow the lead of Vicknair, a Texas-bound senior who finished fifth at last year’s state cross country meet. Gonzales didn’t feel the pressure of having to pace the team, which won the Class 5A state title.

Gonzales was the Chargers’ third runner and finished 16th overall (18.21.59 over 5,000 meters) at last fall’s state meet. As a freshman, she was 69th (19:52.52) and the team’s fifth runner at state.

“I was dying on the second lap (in the 800) but over the break and in cross country season, I had been trying to work on it because I knew if I didn’t go out as fast then I’d have more energy to finish strong,” Gonzales said. “It’s worked out really well so far.”

That base work from cross country allowed her to try the 1,600 for the first time this season. Gonzales opened with a 4:59.23 on Feb. 13 at the Northside ISD Relays. She won the race by more than 35 seconds.

Breuer thought she’d have a strong season in the 1,600 after running a 5:06 in a January time trial.

Gonzales’ success in the 1,600 led to another challenge at the Unicorn Relays. About a half-hour after winning the 1,600, she ran the second leg in the Chargers’ 1,600 relay. The events run back-to-back in a standard meet.

Champion clocked a 3:53.31 to win the event by 10 seconds. That time is the area’s best by nearly eight seconds.

“I don’t know how, but I had so much energy,” Gonzales said. “I guess because I was so excited to see how it would go. I just focused on one race at a time. I did everything I could to recover super quickly and I tried to leave everything I had on the relay.”